You walk in the forest and think you see a leaf or a branch moving?
It is actually an insect that takes the form of certain elements of nature.
Why do insects imitate plants?
Small, large, slimy or even green… Many insects take advantage of the abundant vegetation in our gardens and forests to hide.
While some decide to move at night to avoid predators, other insects are modeled on many plants to be able to evolve incognito.
Beyond protecting themselves from predators, this strategy of mimicry allows them to feed more easily and to evolve discreetly.
Here are five of them whose appearance is amazing to make themselves invisible to other species, such as chameleons.
stick insect
The stick insect, an insect that looks like a grasshopper.
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The stick insect is a neopteran herbivorous insect belonging to the heteronemidae family.
It weighs between one and three grams and can be up to six inches long.
It takes the shape and color (green or brown) of a twig, a leaf or a lichen, depending on the place, the light and this for several hours to deceive its predators such as rodents, birds or even ants or spiders.
Nicknamed "devil's stick", it is used to moving slowly with its six hooked legs and two long antennae.
He generally moves at night, for more discretion and for a question of survival.
They have several moults during their life, the expectation of which is around one to two years.
3000 species are currently listed in the world.
Read alsoWhat insects are useful in the garden?
phyllia
Leaf ?
No, a phyllia.
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Do you think you are watching a leaf and it starts to move?
It is a phyllia, a cheleuptera insect of the family of stick insects which evolves in tropical environments, particularly in Asia.
With its flat body, its green color and its elytra, the phyllia has the appearance of a leaf.
It even happens to make a few movements to make believe that its featherweight moves with the wind and thus deceive its prey and predators.
Read the fileGarden insects: all our advice to get to know them better
The orchid mantis
The orchid mantis, an insect that thinks it's a tropical flower.
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It perfectly imitates a flower.
The orchid mantis is an insect of the Hymenopodidae family, which takes on the appearance of an orchid.
It is native to Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia.
With its pink, purple and white colors and its legs it imitates the petals of the orchid.
By pretending to be a flower, it evolves near real orchids, thus fooling its prey who believe they can forage but are trapped.
And it also protects itself from its predators who see nothing but fire.
Measuring between two and six centimeters, its life expectancy varies between two and six months.
Read the fileOrigin, cultivation, flowering: all our advice on orchids
Deroplatys trigonodera
The peculiarity of the deroplatys trigonodera: its triangular thorax.
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Deroplatys trigonodera belongs to the order Deroplatyidae.
It is an insect from Southeast Asia.
It sports a brown or light brown color to adopt an appearance and mimicry identical to that of a dead leaf.
This species of praying mantis wisely waits for its prey to come up to it, thinking it is part of the tree.
With its triangular thorax, four legs, two antennae and wide abdomen, the deroplatys trigonodera measures between 5 and 10 centimeters.
Read alsoIs the earwig a useful insect in the garden?
The lantern fly
The lantern fly gives a voluminous look to the trunk.
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Although only an inch long, the moth-like lanternfly has a beautiful pattern once it spreads its wings.
This insect from Aise, and more particularly from China, is recognizable by its brown color, slightly tinged with gray and red, and its black spots on its back and wings.
The lantern fly thus blends with a tree trunk, especially a fruit tree and its irregularities, and takes advantage of this to feed on its sap.
As pretty as this insect is, the lantern fly is an invasive insect.
They devour vineyards, certain trees and eat more than 70 species of edible and ornamental plants.